A/N: And here I present to you the final chapter (and epilogue)! Apologies for the late update but it's worth it. This chapter is extra-long so enjoy :)
Chapter 15
Yugi rubbed his head as he opened his eyes to take in his surroundings.
He looked to see the others around him slowly coming to. Yugi saw Yami look around franticly for a moment before their eyes met and the other visibly relaxed.
"What the absolute hell happened?" Bakura growled, standing up to dust off his clothes.
"Well turns out Pegasus really was as crazy as we thought" Yami sighed.
"Shit!" Malik swore and everyone turned to see him struggling to stand up. "I think I may have sprained my ankle when we fell" Malik said, his face twisted in agony.
Marik walked over and quickly put an arm around the other boy. Malik looked hesitant at first but allowed the other to support his weight.
"Guys I don't think we're alone" Ryou said and everyone turned to look at him.
Ryou pointed into the darkness and once everyone's eyes adjusted, they could make out a line of people lying on the floor.
Yami's face paled. "Are they dead?"
Ryou walked over to the closest figure and felt their wrist. "I don't feel a heartbeat but look at their eyes; their pupils are black. These must be the bodies of the souls who were captured!"
"Captured?" Bakura asked, coming to stand next to Ryou.
"Yeah, we found the blueprints to an added extension of the duel disk machine. It captures the souls of strong duelists and uses them to create new duel monsters" Ryou explained laying the man's wrist gently back down and getting up to stand next to Bakura.
"Pegasus is a twisted man" Bakura sneered sending a death glare up into the ceiling where they'd fallen from.
Malik leaned on Marik as he counted the bodies from his place on the other side of the room. "Well there seems to be the same number of people here that are missing but we'll have to check properly later."
Suddenly Malik's eyes widened in shock. He and Marik walked over closer to the bodies as Malik sat down next to one of them.
The female body lay still like the rest of them, clothed in a purple skirt and top. "It's the girl from the photo Anzu showed us" Malik exclaimed. "But look" he continued. Malik gently pulled at the female's short brown hair where he'd noticed a blonde strand of hair poking out. The brown wig came off to reveal a long mane of blonde hair.
"It's Mai! I don't know how we didn't pick that up from the photo. This must be the disguise she uses outside the spy agency" Malik realised.
"I guess there are so many things we don't know" Yugi said as he made his way over to the bodies. Yami followed him and held his hand as they looked over at the destruction Pegasus had caused. So many people stolen, so many families and friends worried, just for the sake of a trading card game.
"We need to fix this" Marik said as he helped Malik back onto his feet. Malik cringed slightly but smiled reassuringly up at Marik.
"Well I say we start by getting out of here. That light looks like our best bet" Bakura suggested as he pointed to the small light coming from a crack in the wall.
Ryou took off his backpack and pulled out a screwdriver. He walked over to the wall and wedged the screwdriver in with force. The wall cracked slightly under the pressure but mostly stayed intact.
Yugi joined him with a metal pole and pushed the pole into the crack. Again the wall cracked slightly but they both knew it was going to take a lot more than a small force to make a hole big enough to climb through.
Yami and Bakura looked at each other and nodded before walking over with slight smug grins on their faces. "We know you guys are the spies but we've got this covered" Yami smiled and asked Yugi and Ryou to move to the side.
The two did so with confused looks on their faces.
Yami and Bakura looked at each other and counted to three before running at the wall and side-kicking it at the same time.
The crack spread and the brick surrounding it crumbled to reveal a hole about 1.5 meters wide.
Everyone besides Marik looked at them in shock. "What was that?" Yugi asked, his eyes wide as platters.
Yami laughed. "When we were younger our father used to lock us in our room as punishment but Bakura and I always used our combined strength to break the door down. After a while, he stopped locking us up because we always got out."
"Things haven't changed" Bakura laughed as he fist-bumped Yami.
"Okay let's get going" Marik added as he and Malik joined the others.
The other two pairs walked ahead through the hole as Marik and Malik hobbled behind.
"You know you really don't have to hold me" Malik said as Marik helped him through the hole.
"I always want to help you and besides, I like holding you" Marik grinned as he tightened his hold around Malik's waist.
Malik smiled but his eyes looked lost in thought.
"What's wrong?" Marik asked.
"Just what you said about helping me. This may sound crazy and for all I know, it might not have even been you, but do you remember ever meeting a blonde-haired boy getting picked on years ago?" Malik asked.
A couple of seconds went by and Malik began talking at lightning speed. "Yeah I know, it was stupid, it probably wasn't even you and it was years ago, there's no way you would remember, I don't know what I was thinking, it probably didn't even cross your mi-" Malik rambled before Marik put a light hand to his mouth to stop him.
"Oh course I remember, who could forget those big lavender eyes? I just couldn't believe you remembered! Why anyone would want to pick on anyone as precious as you is beyond me" Marik replied looking deep into Malik's eyes.
Malik blushed deeply but maintained eye contact. "Well I just wanted to thank you again. Those kids never picked on me again after that" Malik said quietly.
Marik smiled and pulled Malik's head into his own chest and held the boy closely. "As long as I'm around I'll always make sure you're safe and happy" Marik said and kissed the top of Malik's head.
Malik smiled into Marik's chest. Besides his sister, he had never felt this loved in his entire life.
"Also you have an incredible ass so I'm not letting you go anytime soon" Marik added with a laugh.
Malik pulled away from the embrace and bonked Marik lightly on the head. "Way to ruin the moment" Malik laughed.
"What, it's true!" Marik exclaimed and Malik just sighed.
"You two hurry up, we've found a door!" Bakura called from in front and the two blondes hurried as fast as they could to meet up with the others.
They reached the other four and saw the door Bakura was referring to. The door was wooden and had a large gold eye symbol on it.
"Our father always was one for being extravagant" Yami said bitterly as he looked at the symbol on the door before pushing the large door open.
All six entered the hall and their phones all buzzed immediately. "We have reception!" Yugi exclaimed. "I'll contact head office to send back up."
"Good plan" Yami agreed.
They walked towards the centre of the hall towards a large wooden table. On the table were twenty or so trading cards, each in a glass case.
Ryou went over to pick one up but instantly pulled his hand back and winced with pain.
"Are you okay?" Bakura asked and held Ryou's hand, looking it over for any sign of damage.
"I'm alright. I think there's some invisible force field protecting the cards" Ryou replied.
"Ahh guys, I can't move my legs" Yami said.
"What are you talking about?" Bakura replied going to walk over to Yami but realizing his feel were also immobilized.
"Same" Malik replied.
"My whole body is starting to freeze up. I can only move my head!" Yugi added.
The door on the other side of the hall opened extravagantly and Pegasus walked in, his hair pulled back to reveal a bright golden eye.
"You know, you are all starting to annoy me" Pegasus said as he waltzed into the room.
(S)(P)(I)(E)(S)
"So you're telling me you haven't heard from Yugi, Ryou or Malik since you sent them to Anzu's house, and you're okay with that?!" Joey demanded, trying to get Kaiba's attention.
"They're grown men, I'm sure they can take care of themselves for a day" Kaiba replied, not looking up from his laptop.
The new CEO had been extremely busy since taking over KaibaCorp and had spent most nights at the office trying to fix all of Noah's mistakes and maintain the spy agency.
"Well I for one am worried; remember I thought they were missing for a week and no one was doing anything about it. And it turned out it was your men after them. This is bringing back some sore memories" Joey pouted.
Kaiba sighed. "Have you tried calling them?"
"Of course I have, do you think I'm stupid? It keeps going straight to voicemail and they're not replying to any of my texts."
"I'm sure they're fine; you know they can't always answer their phones when they're on the job" Kaiba explained, trying to concentrate on the work in front of him.
Joey just pouted again but Kaiba didn't say anything. Truth be told, Joey was extremely bored. Since Malik, Ryou and Yugi were out from Millennium Corp indefinitely to explore the disappearances elsewhere, Millennium Corp had disbanded the social media team for the time being so Joey and Mana were on leave until replacements could be found.
Joey sighed again. He walked over to stand behind Kaiba and leaned over Kaiba's shoulder to look at his screen. "What are you even doing?" he asked.
Kaiba's eye twitched. "I'm trying to reply to this email but you keep distracting me."
"Oh do I?" Joey asked, a cheeky glint in his eyes. He moved away from Kaiba and perched himself on the desk.
"What are you doing?" Kaiba asked.
"Nothing, I'm just sitting here, not distracting you" Joey replied, a small smile on his face.
Kaiba gave him a look of disbelief but turned back to his laptop. He began typing but stopped when he saw something move in the corner of his eye. Kaiba looked up and saw Joey unbuttoning the first buttons of his shirt.
"Wh-what are you doing?" Kaiba asked, a very faint blush covering the bridge of his nose.
"Nothing, it's just hot so I thought I'd unbutton my shirt a bit while I sit under the fan" Joey answered nonchalantly.
Kaiba looked at Joey for a few more seconds then looked back at his screen and tried to control his breathing.
"Are you sure you're okay Kaiba, you look a little red yourself" Joey asked.
Kaiba looked back at Joey who had a very small smug look on his face. The puppy knew exactly what he was doing.
"Actually I think you're right, maybe I'll just unbutton my shirt too" Kaiba replied. He loosened his tie and unbuttoned the first few buttons of his shirt.
Now it was Joey's turn to be taken off guard. Dammit, he was supposed to be in control of the situation.
"You know what, I think it's getting warmer" Joey said as he unbuttoned another couple of buttons.
As if the world hated him, the door opened and in walked Honda.
"Joey?" Honda asked, his voice shocked. Joey knew what this looked like; Joey sitting on Kaiba's desk unbuttoning his shirt.
"Honda!" Joey stammered and quickly got off the desk and buttoned his shirt.
Honda rubbed the back of his head. "I haven't seen you in ages, what are you doing here? Actually don't tell me what you are doing, it's all good. How do you know Kaiba?" Honda stammered back.
Joey blushed. "It's not what it looks like and I know him through a couple of friends of mine."
"Are you making it a habit to know everyone that I work with?" Kaiba asked, his shirt and tie perfect as though they hadn't been touched.
Joey looked back at Kaiba. "Honda and I have been friends since elementary school. We lost touch after I went overseas a couple of years ago."
"Yeah. Anyway, Kaiba we've received an alert from Yugi from a mansion that we think might belong to the CEO of Millennium Corp. It's for back up" Honda explained.
Kaiba's eyes narrowed. "Well don't just stand there, arrange for the others to come and let's move" Kaiba ordered and closed his laptop screen.
"Yes sir" Honda replied before running out of the room.
"I'm coming too" Joey said. Kaiba looked at him and saw the determined look in his eyes. There was no way he was going to listen to him if he told him to stay put.
"Fine, but if you get in the way you're dead" Kaiba said and threw him a shotgun for protection.
(S)(P)(I)(E)(S)
Bakura watched as Pegasus walked closer and closer to the group.
"You know, you could have just stayed in the room until I got the police off my behind about the disappearances and you would have all been fine. None the wiser. But instead, I have to clean up your dirty work" Pegasus sighed as he neared the group.
"What have you done to us?" Bakura sneered as he attempted to move his body but failed. The only thing he could do was move his neck and head.
"You know years ago I travelled to Egypt. There, I met a man named Shadi who possessed a golden eyeball, this one to be exact" Pegasus explained as he tapped his own golden eye.
"Does it look like we give a shit?" Marik barked.
Pegasus continued as if there had been no interruption. "He told me it contained powers beyond my wildest dreams, powers to make me a billionaire and to never have to face any troubles again. However, he explained that to harness those powers I would have to do something good to restore balance in the world. He told me there were three troublesome children in an orphanage in Japan who hadn't had a home for the majority of their lives. Apparently no one could handle the three and they refused to be separated. He said if I took them under my wing then the powers would be mine."
Pegasus paused and looked at his sons. The boys had gone silent, no one saying a word.
"Of course, I was skeptical at first. But I went to Japan anyway and just as he had predicted, there were three children without a home. I took them in and no sooner had I done so, the eye began to show its magic. The world became my oyster. I could control people's thoughts, change the stock market and travel wherever I wanted. But the money wasn't enough, I needed more out of life. So I made myself an empire. I delved in different domains and realised duel monsters was my calling. But making trading cards was not enough. They're just paper, born from the figment of someone's imagination. I needed to be better; to be the master. Don't you see? Anyone can make trading cards from paper, but no one but me can make the strongest cards from something as pure as a person's soul!" Pegasus explained, a crazy glint in his eyes.
"You're sick" Yami said, with a disgusted look on his face. "All this pain just to fuel your greed. I thought you were bad but this is the worst."
"Hmm you all seem to be in pairs, that's interesting. What would happen if you were split up?" Pegasus mused completely ignoring his son's words.
Pegasus walked over to Bakura and Ryou. Ryou still had his hand facing the ceiling where Bakura had checked it over.
"Get away from him!" Bakura yelled but Pegasus took no heed.
"You know, I was able to create an artificial copy of the power the eye possesses into each duel disk 3000. But that artificial power is nothing compared to the true power of my eye" Pegasus said.
He pointed his eye at Ryou's wrist and before Ryou could comprehend what was happening Ryou's eyes became black and he dropped to the floor.
"Ryou!" Bakura yelled and tried against all his might to reach down to the other boy but he couldn't move. Instead all he could do was stare at Ryou's soulless body on the floor.
Bakura looked back up at Pegasus and watched as a card materialized in Pegasus' hand. Bakura could make out Ryou's figure on the card.
"Put him back right now!" Malik roared and Pegasus looked up as if only just realizing there were others in the room.
"Feisty one, aren't you?" Pegasus said as he pocketed the card and walked towards Malik.
"Stay where you are!" Marik ordered but Pegasus continued walking towards them.
"Bye now" Pegasus said and Malik fell to the floor, his eyes coal black.
Another card appeared in Pegasus' hand and he pocketed Malik's card as well.
Marik looked back at Pegasus with pure hatred but Pegasus was on a high and completely ignored the other.
Yugi looked around and knew he was next. He felt sick to the stomach watching his two closest friends drop lifelessly to the floor and knowing that he was just about to do the same.
Yugi looked at Yami who was already looking at him. "Yami, it's going to be all right. You have to find a way out of this" Yugi said, trying to put on a convincingly strong voice.
"Yugi no, I'm not going to lose you" Yami replied, his eyes watery but determined.
"Sorry to ruin this little conversation, but don't think that just because you were the most sane of the three you're going to be let off easily. I'll let you say goodbye though. Go ahead" Pegasus said to Yami.
Yami turned once more to Yugi. "Yug-" he began but Pegasus just laughed and pointed his eye at Yugi and took his soul.
"Just kidding" Pegasus said as Yugi's body dropped to the floor.
"Yugi!" Yami yelled.
Yugi's soul card was added to Pegasus' hand and he added it to his pocket. "What, can't a dad tell a joke once in a while?"
Yami looked at Pegasus and spat in his face.
Pegasus took out a handkerchief and gingerly wiped his face. "That wasn't very nice. After everything that I've done for you. Now you know what it's like to be alone. I think I'll just leave you to look at what you've made me do" Pegasus scowled and walked towards the door he had entered.
The door burst open and in ran Kaiba, Honda, Otogi and several other agents.
"Don't move" Otogi yelled as he pointed a gun at Pegasus.
"Now this is just tiresome" Pegasus said as he fake yawned and immobilized all the new occupants with his millennium eye.
"Why don't you all realise it's useless to fight against me. I will always win as long as I have this" Pegasus said as he pointed to his glowing eye.
Little did Pegasus know that there was one other occupant in the mansion. Joey was hiding behind the door just as Kaiba had ordered and was currently peeking his head through the crack of the door and taking in the situation in front of him. He saw his friends' lifeless bodies and Kaiba and the team frozen in action.
Joey felt sick to the stomach. He looked down at the shotgun in his hands and back through the crack in the door. The silver haired man, who he remembered seeing at Millennium Corp, had a strange glowing golden eye and was pointing at it continuously.
Now Joey wasn't stupid. He knew there was some sort of voodoo magic crap happening and it had to come from the glowing eye thing.
Joey opened the door the tiniest bit more but the silver haired man was too busy monologing to notice. He wondered whether if he shot at the eye, it would break. It would be much easier for a bullet to go through it if it was solid gold, but if it had any other metals in it, then it would be much stronger and may even bounce off.
He looked once more at his friends and Kaiba and knew what he had to do. He carefully positioned the gun and waited till he had a steady angle on the eye and shot at it.
The bullet made a piercing sound as it travelled across the hall and hit Pegasus right in the eye. The bullet didn't go all the way in but definitely sunk into the golden globe.
Pegasus screamed and everyone instantly unfroze. Otogi and Honda ran up to Pegasus and handcuffed the man who was desperately trying to clutch at his golden eye which seemed to be slowly melting down his face.
The table and Pegasus' back pocket glowed brightly for a moment before all the cards on the table disappeared.
The spies all stirred as their souls were returned to their bodies. They got up slowly into the waiting arms of each of the brothers.
"I really need to stop making it a habit of nearly dying" Ryou laughed, his voice full of relief at waking up and being in Bakura's arms.
Bakura just held onto him tighter and tucked Ryou's head under his chin. "I never want to live without you."
Ryou smiled. "Same" he replied.
Bakura's heart tightened at that one word and he gently tilted Ryou's face upwards and kissed the younger boy. Ryou's heart swelled and he returned the kiss and realised he was exactly where he belonged.
(S)(P)(I)(E)(S)
Yugi also woke up to find Yami staring down at him. "I guess you found a way out" Yugi said.
"It was Joey. I spotted him at the door and he shot Pegasus" Yami explained, pulling Yugi into his lap.
"What? I didn't even know Joey knew how to use a gun" Yugi replied in disbelief.
"I guess his adrenalin kicked in" Yami shrugged but pulled Yugi closer. "I'm glad it did though because I don't know what I would have done otherwise" Yami said.
"I'm sure you would have figured out something. You always make me feel safe" Yugi said, smiling up at Yami.
Yami just looked back at Yugi in disbelief. He couldn't believe he had this angel in his arms who, although could kick ass, had the one of the purest hearts of anyone he had ever met and believed wholeheartedly in him.
"Yugi, I don't think you know how special you are. The world would have been a dark place if it lost you" Yami said with so much sincerity that Yugi's heart nearly broke with happiness.
"Yami…" Yugi said, lost for words. He wanted to tell Yami how much he meant to him but he didn't know how to express himself.
"I know" Yami smiled back at Yugi and the two held each other close, the unspoken bond connecting them together.
(S)(P)(I)(E)(S)
Joey sat dumbfounded at the entrance of the hall, not quite believing what he had just done.
"Are you okay?" he heard a voice say. He looked up to see Kaiba, his face in a rare look of concern.
"I just shot somebody" Joey replied.
"No you dummy" Kaiba said affectionately as he pulled Joey up into a hug. "You saved so many lives today. Think of all the families who are going to have their loved ones back."
"I guess" Joey said, scratching the back of his head. "You're kind of scaring me though now. Stop being so nice." Joey said, pushing Kaiba's shoulder playfully.
"While I was frozen I thought he was going to kill you and I knew there was nothing I could do to stop him" Kaiba said, his voice turning serious as he looked intensely into Joey's eyes.
"It's fine now though" Joey said nervously. He didn't know which Kaiba was scarier; the creepily nice one or the serious concerned one.
"Yes it is …. pup" Kaiba said with a smug look on his face and leaned down and kissed Joey on the mouth. Joey decided he didn't want to let this Kaiba go anytime soon.
Epilogue
1 Year Later
"Hurry up, we're going to be late!" Yugi called up the stairs.
"I'm coming" Yami called back and jogged down the stairs and greeted Yugi at the bottom with a peck on the cheek.
"Don't think you're going to get out of it that easily, we're still running late. What kind of best man is late to the wedding?" Yugi scolded playfully as they went to the limo waiting outside.
"Hey, as long as I don't forget the rings then I'm all good" Yami joked as he sat down next to Yugi.
Yugi just gave him a look but nevertheless snuggled up to his boyfriend and let the other hold him.
"You're lucky you're so loveable" Yugi said as he threaded his fingers through Yami's.
"I know" Yami said and smiled back at his one true love.
(S)(P)(I)(E)(S)
"I feel like this is a bad idea" Malik said as he closed the door behind him.
"What, the bride won't be here for ages and besides, you look too delicious in this suit for me to keep my hands off you" Marik said as he loosened Malik's bowtie slightly so that his mouth could have access to Malik's neck.
"Yeah but this cupboard is literally so close to the front of the aisle; what happens if someone hears us?" Malik whispered but whimpered when Marik found a particularly sensitive spot on his neck.
"Well we'll just have to keep quiet now won't we Malik-pretty?" Marik smiled evilly and silenced anything Malik was about to say with a deep kiss.
When they separated from their kiss, Malik looked at Marik with a loving look. "You take my breath away" Malik said, his eyes staring deeply into Marik's own.
"Love you too" Marik replied and their lips connected once more.
(S)(P)(I)(E)(S)
"Kaiba what are you doing here by yourself?" Yugi asked as Kaiba sat down next to him in one of the pews of the church.
"Joey is walking Mana down the aisle, didn't he tell you?" Kaiba asked.
"Oh yeah, how could I forget! Those two are so tight" Yugi replied.
"Yeah I know, she's over every second day discussing things to do with the wedding. And she gets along so well with Mokuba as well that I can't tell her to leave otherwise Joey and Mokuba will both be on my ass" Kaiba said, rubbing his temple.
Yugi just laughed. "I knew you were a softy at heart."
Kaiba gave Yugi one of his famous 'Kaiba stares' which made Yugi stop laughing pretty quickly.
Yugi was pretty sure Joey was the only one that ever saw Kaiba smile.
Yugi looked to the front of the church and saw Yami standing patiently next to Mahado who looked nervous. Yami saw Yugi and gave him a small excited wave and Yugi waved back, a large smile coming to his face.
He wondered where everyone else was.
(S)(P)(I)(E)(S)
Marik and Malik paused their make-out when they heard the bridal music start.
"Shit" Malik whispered. "What do we do?"
"I guess we're stuck here for the ceremony" Marik laughed quietly and turned Malik around so that Malik had his back against his chest. Marik wrapped his arms around the smaller boy's waist.
"I could stay like this for a while" Malik smiled and leaned back into Marik's embrace.
(S)(P)(I)(E)(S)
"You may kiss the bride" the priest announced and Mana and Mahado kissed in front of all their family and friends.
Everyone got up and cheered. Yugi looked around and spotted Bakura and Ryou right at the back cheering along with everyone else. He turned to face the front again to look at the happy couple and saw Marik and Malik in the corner of his eye sneak out of a cupboard looking quite sheepish.
Yugi waited till everyone started moving before meeting up with Yami. They both made their way towards Ryou and Bakura and noticed that Marik and Malik had joined them. Kaiba had gone to meet up with Joey.
"What happened to you guys, I thought we were all going to sit at the front?" Yugi asked the other four.
Marik and Malik looked at each other and laughed. "We got a bit preoccupied" Marik said.
"I don't even want to know" Yugi laughed and turned to the others. "What about you guys; you're never late Ryou" Yugi asked.
Ryou looked at Bakura and blushed bright red. "Uhh well, I don't know how to put this, but Bakura proposed and we're engaged!" Ryou announced holding up his ring finger.
"Oh my gosh, congratulations!" Yugi cried. Malik and Yugi both tackled Ryou who could not stop grinning.
Yami and Marik both went and hugged their brother. "Congratulations thief, who would have guessed someone would actually agree to marry you" Marik laughed and patted his brother on the back.
"Yeah well someone had to get married in the family" Bakura retorted but couldn't keep the grin off his face.
"Did someone say engaged?" a voice asked and Ryou barely had two seconds before he was tackled to the ground once more by a hug from a very excited blonde haired man.
"Pup get off him, he doesn't need to be tackled" Kaiba said and Joey reluctantly got off Ryou and went over to stand next to Kaiba.
"As much as this is exciting, reception food is calling" Marik said as his stomach grumbled. The others laughed and made their way towards the waiting limos. Everything had worked out just fine.
THE END
A/N: Omg it's over. Thank you so much for everyone who came along this journey with me and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I loved writing it. Please let me know what you guys think! Till next time xx
